Fresh seafood—grilled, baked, or sautéed with lemon and herbs, Gordon Ramsay-style. What could be more simple, healthy and delicious?
The answer depends on where you buy your fish—because in today’s seafood market, there’s a good chance you’re not getting what you think. Mislabeled species, questionable origins and misleading freshness claims are surprisingly common. So that perfect piece of “wild-caught” seabass? It might not be wild, or even seabass.
Ocean2Table, founded in 2014 by UCSC Environmental Studies graduates Ian Cole and Charlie Lambert, is a Santa Cruz–based Community Supported Fishery dedicated to delivering ultra-fresh, traceable food straight from the ocean and earth to your plate—no airplane required. Originally focused on sustainable seafood, Ocean2Table now offers a range of high-quality choices, all sourced with integrity and transparency with an emphasis on local.
Cole and Lambert launched Ocean2Table after working in fishery management, where they witnessed firsthand the alarming extent of seafood fraud. From rampant mislabeling to misleading catch data, they saw a system that left consumers in the dark. Their solution: build a direct connection between local fishermen and community members that is grounded in transparency and trust.
Today, Ocean2Table works with dozens of fishermen, offloading catch from fleets they’ve known for years or catching fish themselves via hook and line. They avoid species or methods linked to bycatch, habitat destruction or poor stock status. Their Fish Alert emails update customers on what’s available based on when the boats come in—there’s no fixed schedule, but there is a promise: delivery within a day of the catch being unloaded.
Over time, Cole and Lambert have continued to expand their offerings beyond seafood. They now manage a small orchard in Santa Cruz’s Ocean Street Extension, supplying avocados, peaches, plums, citrus, apples and pears, and locally grown or foraged mushrooms, plus poultry, dairy and pantry items—all traceable to the source.
The result is high-quality, responsibly harvested items from growers pushing the boundaries of sustainability. Their website even lists the name of the grower, harvester or producer to caption the image of each offering. The focus is on building a better food system for future generations: sustainability 2.0.
With multiple pickup sites, including a newly opened location on Swift Street (around the corner at the end of the building) combined with pickup and home delivery throughout Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, Ocean2Table is reimagining local food systems. The mission: to shorten the supply chain, reduce waste and help people reconnect with the origin of their food—one catch, crop and connection at a time.
Ocean2Table, 427 Swift St., Suite C, Santa Cruz. 831-295-8403. getocean2table.com
